The Athens City Council on Monday cleared the way for a convenience store to be able to sell alcohol through a change of zoning.

The store sits on property at 210 W. Elm St., Athens, which was rezoned from a neighborhood business district to traditional business district. The request was made by HBC LLC, which was represented at the meeting by Billy Cannon.

“We were just following your recommendation (by requesting the rezoning),” Cannon told the council prior to its vote.

Under the neighborhood business district zoning, the store was unable to sell alcohol because of its proximity to House of Hope Ministry and the sanctuary of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church.

The city’s alcohol ordinance states that stores in the neighborhood business district must be 500 feet from a church. A convenience store across the street is able to sell alcohol because it is in a traditional business district zoning, which stipulates a business selling alcohol has to be 50 feet from a church.

Because the store wasn’t in a traditional business district zoning, the council denied the store’s request last June for a license to sell alcohol for off-premise consumption. The council also advised the store’s operators to speak with the city’s attorney about finding an alternative to their dilemma.

The alternative was to rezone the property to a traditional business district, which would allow alcohol sales at the store.

Public Works Director James Rich told the council the Athens Planning Commission did not recommend the property be rezoned because it did not meet the definition of a traditional business district. He explained there are no sidewalks going to the property, which is a hallmark of a traditional business district, and the city’s Future Land-Use Plan shows the property as being in a general business district.

District 5 Councilman Wayne Harper said he believed the council should support the rezoning because it was the council that urged the owners to seek an alternative to their alcohol dilemma.

“I’m supporting of anything that can make commerce grow,” District 4 Councilman Joseph Cannon said, though he abstained from the vote because the property is owned by family.

District 3 Councilman Frank Travis said the council always seems to “make things work in other parts of town.” He said this part of Athens “needs some uplifting.”

At the same meeting, the council rezoned adjacent lots on North Jefferson Street from residential and neighborhood business district to traditional business district. The request was made by Mark Wilson.

Lastly, the council held a public hearing and then voted to rezoned property west of 1603 W. Hobbs St. at the request of OSP Realty LLC and Old South Properties Inc. The property was rezoned from a traditional neighborhood district to institutional district. Rich explained Limestone Lodge seeks to expand and add a rehabilitation facility.

Nixle contract

The council approved a contract with Nixle, which allows the city to send text alerts about severe weather, road closures, missing persons or any other important community information. The service was free to the city but was cut off at the first of the year after Nixle decided it could no longer provide free service to municipalities.

The new contract is good for three years and will cost $4,650, plus a one-time setup fee of $372.

Communications Specialist Holly Hollman told the council the service was implemented after the April 2011 tornadoes and has been useful in a variety of ways. Last year, Nixle alerts helped the police department track down a family member of a man found wandering disoriented on Mooresville Road.

“Not everybody is on Facebook all hours of the day and some may not be on Facebook or Twitter,” she said.

New garbage truck

The council also approved the purchase of a commercial front-loader garbage truck for the Public Works Department at a cost not to exceed $269,000. Sanitation Director Earl Glaze told the council the city’s existing commercial garbage trucks were broken down and the city was having to rent a truck to empty commercial dumpsters at a cost of about $8,000 a week.

He told the council one of the trucks being repaired in Birmingham was ready to be picked up Monday. Another truck was scheduled to be ready by Thursday.

“The good truck you’ve got, keep it at Canebrake,” said Council President and Canebrake resident Harold Wales. The comment received a chuckle from those in attendance.

Other business

In other business, the council:

• Approved a resolution to demolish an unsafe house at 533 Brownsferry St.;

• Held a public hearing on a request to vacate a public alley near Market Street Church of Christ. The council tabled action on the issue; and

• Accepted a quote from Drop Metal Co. for a lightbulb sculpture to be displayed as part of the state’s bicentennial celebration. The $10,000 cost will be split between Athens Utilities and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The council will meet again Monday, Jan. 28, at City Hall.